Planning our 25th wedding anniversary on September 2018 and will like to visit Barcelona, Madrid. Any suggestions where to stay in those cities? Near the metro and where's entertainment. Also What other cities will be nice to visit? We planning to Spain for
2 1/2 weeks.
Thanks!
We had a wonderful stay at Hotel Granvia in Barcelona. http://www.hotelgranvia.com/en/ It is very close to the metro; easy walking distance to restaurants, Las Ramblas, Boqueria Market, Casa Battlo, & Casa Mila. They have a beautiful terrace, great breakfast and complimentary afternoon tea that includes appetizers and other sweets. We specifically asked for a room that looked out onto Granvia de les Corts Catalanes, because I had read some negative feedback on rooms that faced the interior courtyard. Even though it did face the street, the room was quiet. Staff was very accommodating and helpful. We took a day trip to Sant Sadurni d'Anoia to visit some cava producers. It's an easy train ride from Barcelona. Madrid was our least favorite place in Spain, so no recommendations there. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Seville, so you may want to consider that as a stop. Have a great trip!
We visited in Spain in October 2017 in 14 days - not counting arrival and departure days. We chose the Artrip in Madrid, because the hotel was within walking distance of the Atocha train station and the "Big 3" museums. A very nice 2*
I would highly recommend a few days in Seville. The Hotel Becquer is an affordable 4* within walking distance of all the major attractions in Seville.
http://www.hotelbecquer.com/en/
We had originally booked the Hotel Granvia in Barcelona, but when I needed to change the reservation, the room cost went over our budget, so we stayed at the U232 in the Eixample instead. The U232 worked out great for us. We walked everywhere except to Park Guell, and the meet-up place for our day tours.
You need to get a good guide book to Spain and at least skim through it to determine what areas sound most enticing. Rick's doesn't cover the entire country, but it hits the places most first-time visitors would tend to focus on in the amount of time you have. Spain is a very large country, so you cannot cover everything.
Consider the likely weather when you lay out your itinerary. Andalucía can remain very hot in September, so if you decide to include Seville, Cordoba and Granada, I would push the trip as late as possible and end with my time in the south. Madrid tends to be hotter than Barcelona, so maybe start in Barcelona.
This is an easy to manage plan that encompasses all the major sights.
Accommodation really depends on budget and preference for style.
Day
1. ARRIVE Barcelona (5N)
2. Barcelona
3. Barcelona
4. Barcelona
5. Barcelona
6. Fly to Granada (2N)
7. BOOK visit to the Alhambra
8. Train to Ronda (2N)
9. Ronda
10. Train to Seville (4N)
11. Seville
12. Day to Cordoba - visit to the Mezquita
13. Seville
14. Train to Madrid (5N)
15. Madrid
16. Day to Toledo
17. Day to Segovia
18. Madrid
19. DEPART Madrid
